The Court will kick off this week by hearing oral arguments in Bethune-Hill v. Virginia Board of Elections on Monday. After the Virginia General Assembly redrew its legislative districts, the plaintiffs sued, alleging that race was a predominant factor in the redistricting. The Court will have to decide if Virginia’s political leaders unconstitutionally gerrymandered the … Continue reading The Week Ahead – December 5, 2016
Guest Post by Vinay Harpalani, Associate Professor of Law, Savannah Law School Thursday’s decision in Fisher v. Texas II came down exactly 13 years to the day after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2003 ruling in Grutter v. Bollinger—which created the basic legal framework for affirmative action in university admissions. And more than eight years after Abigail … Continue reading The Fishing Expedition is Over: Victory for Affirmative Action in Fisher v. Texas
The line on Justice Kennedy is that he’s tough to predict. Ever since Justice O’Connor’s retirement, he’s been the Supreme Court’s swing vote, and the swing of the swing vote introduces an element of suspense to many of the most contentious Supreme Court cases. His vote, to a greater extent than any of his colleagues, … Continue reading The Unpredictable Justice Kennedy
Guest post by Vinay Harpalani, Associate Professor at Savannah Law School On Wednesday, December 9, for the second time, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. The question in Fisher II is the exactly the same it was in Fisher I: does the University of Texas at … Continue reading The Fishing Expedition Continues: Will there be a Fisher III?
There was not much mystery as to how this one was going to turn out. Kim Davis’ legal arguments for why she should not be required to follow the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling were paper thin. They got her nowhere. The only real question was whether the Kentucky county clerk was going to back … Continue reading Defying the Court
The next wave of litigation involving same-sex marriage is now underway. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling last June striking down same-sex marriage bans across the nation in Obergefell v. Hodges, various individuals have been claiming a constitutional right to continue resisting same-sex marriage. At the core of these cases is what Justice … Continue reading Religious Liberty and Resistance to Same-Sex Marriage
Guest Post by Vinay Harpalani, Associate Professor of Law, Savannah Law School In its October 2015 term, the U.S. Supreme Court will once again consider the constitutionality of race-conscious admissions policies. On June 29, the Court surprised many observers when it granted Abigail Fisher’s petition for a writ of certiorari in Fisher v. Texas (II)—two years after its … Continue reading Fisher v. Texas, the Remix
What did we learn from yesterday’s oral arguments in the historic same-sex marriage cases? The basic take-away seems to be that the issue looks a lot harder inside the Supreme Court than it does outside. The run of success for the cause of same-sex marriage—in state legislatures and referenda, in state courts and the lower … Continue reading Oral Arguments in the Same-Sex Marriage Cases—What Did We Learn?
The Supreme Court heard oral argument in the historic case of Obergefell v. Hodges, the same-sex marriage cases, which ask two questions: 1) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex?, and 2) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between … Continue reading Predicting the Winner in Obergefell v. Hodges, the Same-Sex Marriage Cases
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges, a consolidation of cases that ask the Court to consider two key questions about same-sex marriage: Is there a constitutional right to same-sex marriage? And are states required to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states? Because of the landmark nature of this case, … Continue reading Oyez Covers Same-Sex Marriage Arguments